More than 2,000 Canadian Internet users could find themselves facing lawsuits from a U.S.-based film company.
The company, Voltage Pictures LLC, served Chatham-based Internet service provider TekSavvy with a notice of motion on Monday.
Voltage is seeking a court order which would force TekSavvy to provide the names and contact information of its customers whose computers are alleged to have engaged in copyright infringement.
TekSavvy says this is the largest such action of its kind in Canadian history, coming only weeks after the federal government implemented changes to copyright laws.
TekSavvy CEO Marc Gaudrault says his company is committed to protecting customer privacy and will not provide the information unless ordered to do so by a court.
"It's not our place to scrutinize the merit of exactly what they're alleging happened, however, we don't want to just give up information," he tells CTV.
A privacy lawyer says Voltage is not heading into uncharted waters.
"We have a precedent now set. The federal court in Montreal issued a court order to give out the names behind IP addresses to a Vancouver-based company, and I think that's what Voltage is now relying on," says Fazila Nurani
TekSavvy is maintaining a website to keep its customers up to date on the issue.
The company is also notifying affected customers individually. Voltage Pictures has said they plan to seek a court order next week.
